Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Murphy.
Hi Jamie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My family came to South Carolina in 2007 to serve on staff at a church in North Augusta.
My primary focus was using a nationally recognized parenting program as an outreach tool to minister to families struggling with defiant, disrespectful, disobedient, and at-risk children.
I was a trained facilitator of this program, and our church offered it to the community for free.
We received referrals from the local school system, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Social Services, Family Court, and local law enforcement.
I was in North Augusta for 5 years and we ministered to hundreds of families during that time.
In 2012, I got the opportunity to go back to college to finish my degree. I graduated from Anderson University in 2015 with a degree in Criminal Justice and upon graduation I started the Proactive Parenting Initiative.
We are a non-profit ministry based out of Travelers Rest that provides parent training classes, and we run the only weekend, Christian, behavior modification camp weekend of its kind in the United States. Our behavior modification camp is called Camp TEASPOT. TEASPOT is an acronym that stands for: Take Everything Away Short Period of Time. What makes our camping program different is that the parents are required to attend camp with their children.
At Camp TEASPOT, the children get to experience a weekend of learning in a classroom environment as well as getting to experience the consequences for their unwanted behaviors. Their consequences are having to go a weekend without their normal, personal privileges (cell phones, computers, friends, etc…) and having to perform manual labor at our camp facility. Parents are there with their children the whole weekend. While the children are working, the parents are attending our parenting classes.
Our camp is located just over the South Carolina/North Carolina state line about 10 miles from Chesnee, SC.
More information can be found about our programs on our website, www.proactiveparents.org and our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ProactiveParentingInitiative.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Surprisingly, yes. It has been a pretty smooth road.
We have had a plethora of opportunities to conduct parenting classes all over South Carolina, and the Lord really blessed us when he miraculously gave me the opportunity to be the camp director of a brand new, 142 acre camping facility, Camp McDaniel, where we have the place to conduct our Camp TEASPOT.
Since 2017, we have conducted 47 Camp TEASPOTs where we have helped rebuild relationships with parents and their kids, and seen lives changed by teaching parents to focus on 4 key concepts: showing love and affection, protecting their kids from negative influences, personally instilling positive values, and properly correcting unwanted behaviors. The children are taught what we call our Six Steps to Success: Respect for God, Respect for Authority, Respect for Others, Respect for Self, the value of hard work, and the value of an education.
When the parents and the children comply to what we teach them, we see radical change.
As you know, we’re big fans of Proactive Parenting Initiative. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Our mission is to educate, motivate, and inspire parents to be the most positive influence in the lives of their children that they can be.
Our mantra is: Saving Kids, one parent at a time.
We believe that for dysfunctional families, changed parents will lead to changed kids, which will lead to a more productive family dynamic.
Like I stated previously, Camp TEASPOT is the only camp in the United States that is unashamedly Christian and that requires participation from both the parents and the children.
Also, there is a nominal fee for our services, but no family is ever turned away for lack of funds. We are a non-profit ministry with a volunteer staff who serve as a mission to positively impact families for the glory of God and we have financial supporters who underwrite our ministry so that anyone in need can receive help.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I like to read anything that is written by Dr. John Rosemond. His books are very helpful in raising children in today’s complex society.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.proactiveparents.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProactiveParentingInitiative
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@proactiveparentinginitiati2833
